Synthesis of 1,4-Diazepanes and Benzo[b][1,4]diazepines by a Domino Process Involving the In Situ Generation of an Aza-Nazarov Reagent.

A step- and atom-economical protocol allowing the synthesis of 1,4-diazepanes and also tetrahydro- and decahydro-1,5-benzodiazepines is described. The method proceeds from very simple starting materials such as 1,2-diamines and alkyl 3-oxohex-5-enoates and can be performed under solvent-free conditions in many instances. The key event of this process was the generation in situ of an aza-Nazarov reagent and its subsequent intramolecular aza-Michael cyclization. An intermolecular version of the reaction was also established and applied to the synthesis of the first example of the pyrrolo[1,2-a][1,5]diazonine framework.

Fully diastereoselective synthesis of polysubstituted, functionalized piperidines and decahydroquinolines based on multicomponent reactions catalyzed by cerium(IV) ammonium nitrate.

The cerium(IV) ammonium nitrate (CAN)-catalyzed, three-component reaction between primary amines, ß-dicarbonyl compounds, and α,ß-unsaturated aldehydes in ethanol heated to reflux, constitutes a general, one-pot synthesis of 1,4-dihydropyridines. Their reduction with sodium triacetoxyborohydride furnished piperidine derivatives bearing up to five substituents with full diastereoselectivity in a hitherto inaccessible stereochemical arrangement. The reaction proceeded with no significant loss of enantiomeric purity under mild reduction conditions that are compatible with several functional groups that are normally sensitive to reduction. Octahydroquinolin-5-one derivatives, which were prepared by a modified version of the initial multicomponent reaction, were not suitable substrates for the sodium triacetoxyborohydride mediated reduction, but they were transformed into the corresponding decahydroquinolines, including a precursor of the amphibian alkaloid pumiliotoxin C, by catalytic hydrogenation under a variety of conditions.

Synthesis of benzo- and naphtho-fused bicyclo[n.3.1]alkane frameworks with a bridgehead nitrogen function by palladium-catalyzed intramolecular α'-arylation of α-nitroketones.

The C-alkylation of cyclic α-nitroketones with α-halobenzyl halides in the presence of DBU followed by a Pd-catalyzed intramolecular C-arylation afforded benzo-and naphtho-fused bicyclo[n.3.1]alkane derivatives (n = 3, 4, 5) in excellent overall yields for the two-step sequence. In some of the reactions starting from α-nitrocyclooctanone, the major products were fused indane derivatives arising from an intramolecular attack of an intermediate Pd species onto the carbonyl group, followed by elimination.

Synthesis of a library of 5,6-unsubstituted 1,4-dihydropyridines based on a one-pot 4CR/elimination process and their application to the generation of structurally diverse fused nitrogen heterocycles.

Indium trichloride is an efficient catalyst for the sequential four-component reaction between aliphatic amines, ß-ketoesters, α,ß-unsaturated aldehydes, and ethanol to afford 6-ethoxy-1,4,5,6-tetrahydropyridines, which were converted in situ into 5,6-unsubstituted 1,4-dihydropyridines via ethanol elimination in the presence of neutral Al(2)O(3), in a very efficient, one-pot protocol from acyclic, readily available starting materials that involves the generation of two C-N σ and one C-C π bonds. The structural variety of the dihydropyridine library thus generated was extended by base-promoted γ-alkylation of their C-2 position. The application of these 1,4-dihydropyridines to the facile generation of molecular diversity and complexity was demonstrated by employing them as dienophiles for Yb(OTf)(3)-catalyzed imino Diels-Alder (Povarov) reactions leading diastereoselectively to hexahydrobenzo[h][1,6]-naphthyridine derivatives containing three adjacent stereocenters. The synthesis of fused dihydropyridines derived from the pyrido[2,1-a]azepine (homoquinolizine) frameworks was also achieved using a four-component tetrahydropyridine synthesis/ring-closing metathesis/elimination strategy.

A very efficient cerium(IV) ammonium nitrate catalyzed, four-component synthesis of tetrahydropyridines and its application in the concise generation of functionalized homoquinolizine frameworks.

Molecular diversity: A cerium(IV) ammonium nitrate (CAN) catalyzed, four-component reaction from very simple acyclic starting materials afforded densely substituted tetrahydropyridines, which were transformed into homoquinolizines by using a gamma-alkylation-ring-closing metathesis (RCM) sequence (see scheme).The cerium(IV) ammonium nitrate (CAN) catalyzed, four-component reaction between primary aliphatic amines, beta-ketoesters or beta-ketothioesters, alpha,beta-unsaturated aldehydes, and alcohols provided a very efficient and atom-economical access to substituted 6-alkoxy-2-methyl-1,4,5,6-tetrahydropyridines. These materials were then transformed into homoquinolizine derivatives in excellent yields by using a two-step sequence comprised of regioselective gamma-deprotonation-allylation and ring-closing metathesis reactions. The possibility of displacing the alkoxy group by allylsilane nucleophiles, presumably through a vinylogous acyliminium intermediate species, was also demonstrated.

Efficient generation of highly functionalized fused oxazepine frameworks based on a CAN-catalyzed four-component tetrahydropyridine synthesis/ring-closing metathesis sequence.

1-Allyl(propargyl)-6-allyl(propargyl)oxy-1,4,5,6-tetrahydropyridines, obtained through a CAN-catalyzed four-component reaction, were transformed into highly functionalized pyrido[2,1-b][1,3]oxazepines by ring-closing metathesis (RCM) and ring-closing enyne metathesis (RCEYM) processes, which constitute the first examples of the preparation of 1,3-oxazepine systems using metathesis reactions.

Brief, efficient and highly diastereoselective synthesis of (±)-pumiliotoxin C based on the generation of an octahydroquinoline precursor via a four-component reaction.

A short and highly diastereoselective synthesis of the amphibian alkaloid pumiliotoxin C is described, based on the preparation of an octahydroquinoline derivative through a four-component reaction. The route proceeds in 66% overall yield from 1,3-cyclohexanedione and includes two hydrogenation steps, whose stereochemical outcome was controlled via nitrogen acylation.